The Return of the Wolves. Cultural Anthropological Studies on the Process of Managing the Wolves in Germany

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Michaela Fenske
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 356255982

Having been extinguished in the course of the nineteenth century, at the beginning of the twenty-first century wolves are gradually returning to central Europe. Humans react differently to the animal migrants from the East. Some are afraid of them, others tolerate their presence, and sometimes the wolves are even welcomed. Based on current discussions about the return of the wolves in our societies, the proposed research project is to study the process of managing the wolves in the Federal Republic of Germany. The project is to explore questions relating to the managing's prerequisites, to knowledge and actual practice, to processes of negotiation and valorization, to the relations between humans and animals, and to the relevant definitions and constitutions of nature. Of no less importance is the question what exactly it is that human societies negotiate by discussing the return of the wolves, in other words what kind of conflicts they dispute by focusing on the wolves. In terms of theoretical concepts, the research project combines approaches from the Anthropology beyond humanity with current approaches in the fields of cultural studies and social sciences relating to the study of wild animals. Of equal relevance are the study of narrative cultures in Cultural Anthropology, and studies relating to the generation of knowledge and the constitution of space. The project's theoretical basis relies on the premises of a relational or symmetrical anthropology that aims to transcend the boundaries modernity has drawn between natures and cultures. The research project is to analyze imaginations, narratives, and knowledge, or negotiations and fabrications, in two separate partial projects. Project one is to analyze the narrative culture of everyday narratives about the returning wolves in the Lausitz, a region that has been appraised as a successful model for the cohabitation of human and animal beings. Project two is to study the interactions and relations between humans and animals in those regions of the federal country of Lower Saxony, where wolves live again since a few years. Methodologically, this project is to profit from qualitative techniques of assembling and analyzing empirical data that are predominantly being collected through participant observation and interviews. In close interaction with a variety of experts and members of the population both projects are to study the underlying agendas and practical consequences of wolf-management. Considered together, the projects aim to clarify the obstacles and restraints implied in the processes of learning related to the return of the wolves that currently prevent acceptable solutions for both humans and animals affected by the present conflicts. In addition, the relational connection of cultures and natures has the potential of questioning fundamental boundaries societies have drawn, implying a challenge to the academic boundaries perceived between the humanities and the natural sciences.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants